The most interesting thing has begun in the NHL – the final series of the Stanley Cup. The day before, the first match of the confrontation took place, in which the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on its ice. The tense game ended with a score of 4:3 in favor of the hosts.

The culprit of the defeat of the “lightning” in overtime was the Russian defender Mikhail Sergachev. After the match, American fans attacked our hockey player for a ridiculous mistake.

But it was the Russian who saved Tampa in regular time!

Our boys decide

In the first period, Colorado won the case. The hosts looked better and did not leave the opponent’s defense any chance. Russian players were also noted: the second goal was scored by Valery Nichushkin, flashing between the legs of his compatriot Andrei Vasilevsky. The teams went to the break with the score 3:1 in favor of Colorado. The joy of local fans knew no bounds.

In the second period, Tampa managed to seize the initiative and score two unanswered goals. Our hockey players had a hand in both. At first, Nikita Kucherov dealt with the defenders superbly and passed to the Czech Ondrej Palat, who did not forgive the goalkeeper. And then Mikhail Sergachev, as they say, “freaked out” and gasped with all his might from the blue line. Passing through the thick of the players, the puck flew into the goal. Rejoicing at the goal, our defender did not yet know what awaited him in overtime.

Mikhail Sergachev / Photo: © REUTERS / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Fatal bleed

After a rather cautious third period, the meeting went into overtime. And then the unthinkable happened. Some kind of eclipse found on the Tampa hockey players, and they brought a goal for themselves.

The players did not figure it out when leaving the defense – the Swede Viktor Hedman carried the puck out of his zone, but hit his partner’s skate. The puck bounced off Hedman to Sergachev. The defender did not experience any pressure from the enemy, but in a simple situation for some reason thoughtlessly threw forward. There was an interception and a counterattack, which ended with a decisive goal. Colorado won the first game of the final series.

Criticism in social networks

Many fans were quick to blame Sergachev for the defeat, who made the cut. In social networks, you can find a lot of angry comments about the Russians.

“He’s terrible. I would replace him with (Callan) Foot for at least one game to prove it. Throughout the playoffs, he made these mistakes,” writes Derek Zimmerman.

“Sometimes I have the feeling that Sergachev is sleeping. Terribly infuriating, ”Basil Musnuff shares his emotions.

“Why do all the decisive goals come to us after Sergachev’s shotguns?” asks Mick Kern.

“An unforgivable game, especially in the Stanley Cup final. You have time and room to maneuver, but you are throwing the puck at an oncoming opponent. Just idiocy, ”Jolts Bolts is not shy in the wording.

Photo: © REUTERS / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

It’s amazing how quickly people forget all the good things after a mistake. Sergachev has consistently scored points in the last three games and generally brought a lot of benefits to Tampa this season. However, there are very few voices in his defense.

“Another disgusting game by Sergachev. He was good in Game 5 of last series and scored today, but he was terrible in his own half. However, we know that he can play better, and we need him to be better, ”Andrew tries to soften criticism (4).

“I would blame Hedman more than Sergachev. For some reason, he decided to take out the puck, and it bounced unsuccessfully. You could just calmly play in your zone and avoid all this, ”Matt G offers a different angle.

NHL. Playoffs. The final

Colorado Avalanche (Denver) – Tampa Bay Lightning (Tampa) – 4:3 OT (3:1, 0:2, 0:0, 1:0)

Goals: Landeskog, 7:47. Nichushkin, 9:23. Lehkonen, 17:31 (bol.). Burakovski, 61:23. — Paul, 12:26. Chambers, 32:51. Sergachev, 33:39.

Score in the series – 1:0